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TNA

first of all just want to say thanks for keeping me entertained during the "Netcop" days. As a teenager during the turn of the century, part of the highlights of my wrestling fandom was waiting for your PPV reviews which were hilarious and sometimes more entertaining than the show.

Like a lot of people, after the Invasion started I just zoned out of wrestling. maybe watching the odd match here and there. For some reason a couple of years ago, I was bored and decided to watch some WWE again. And the Daniel Bryan story in 2013 leading up to Wrestlemania 30 really hooked me in. But after that it was clear that Bryan was an anomaly of booking and WWE just got incredibly boring again. I also started to watch other promotions such as TNA, which I'd heard about but never watched.

And to be honest I think that as far as onscreen product goes, Impact was by far and away more compelling than anything else on tv. I loved the storylines and it seems since about June last year, they've had a string of great shows from a booking perspective. Wrestlers seem to have more freedom to develop their characters, and the booking has managed to put people like EC3, the Wolves, Spud, Bram, Lashley over as credible wrestlers. They've also got a Main event scene that is fresh and unpredictable.

However as I looked online It seems that there's a vocal group of people that just want nothing to do with TNA. They say that even if the show is good, that they've been "burned", which seems strange to me considering the amount of times every wrestling promotion has gone through bad patches. Perhaps because I didn't watch it before, I didn't know, but I doubt that anything they've done is far more worse than the intelligence insults the WWE slings at people.

It seems there's this weird double standard for TNA and for those who have been a part of the current wrestling fandom for a while it might not seem to be weird, but as someone who used to be a huge wrestling fan and is rediscovering their love for wrestling, it seems incredibly bizarre and confusing. I can't think of another artform or fandom that has this almost vitriolic hate for a organisation. It reminds me of the Monday Night Wars in that people were choosing sides, but that logic doesn't really apply anymore because of the WWE hegemony.

I get that not everyone wants to watch it. but I think the hate from people who don't even watch is unfair to the wrestlers. They've practised their craft for years and dedicated their lives to wrestling and it's pretty disgusting really to be told that nothing they do matters, no matter how much they sacrifice their bodies to put on great shows, that nothing they do matters because of the company the work in.

Wrestling fans are always moaning about how the art of wrestling is unappreciated by the mainstream and how they don't get respect. I think that some of these same fans need to realise that they are acting in the same way towards TNA and have crossed the line from not liking something to being out and out disrespectful. It can't be easy to bust your ass week in and week out only for "smarks" to ignore you, or worse tell you they don't give a shit because of things that Hogan and his pals did a few years ago. It's just not fair to the wrestlers or the staff.

Sorry for ranting, but as a wrestling fan who now watches wrestling from all the world, It's been bugging me for a while now.

Will.

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Comments

I wonder if it was HHH or Vince that was bothered by the podcast questions. Having only read recaps of it and not having actually seen/heard it, I didn't get the sense that HHH was put off and he can certainly hold his own verbally with Austin.

First off, that email is a cut above the usual stuff Scott is bombarded with.

That said, since you the emailer admit to not knowing about TNA's past transgressions and wonder where all the vitriol, allow me to give you a small sample, courtesy of WrestleCrap. WWE does some dumb shit, but at least they don't have a cage match that fans can't see into and wrestlers can't climb out of.

I watched a bit of TNA since the move to Destination America. Visual I like the look of it but the roster is terrible and they've looked good only to get shitty again so many times I just can't get invested. That and you never know when Tommy Dreamer will show up.

TNA has always made damn sure they come across as secondary to WWE and as such a lot of people have no patience for them. In fits and spurts i've enjoyed TNA and to say they've been an unending shit show for years isn't really fair to them, they've been occasionally great and sometimes the superior product. But no one wants to see WWE's leftovers being treated as main event talent, especially when you have homegrown or may as well be type guys that are clearly stealing the show.

First place to start for this guy to learn about TNA is the nightly thread a few months ago that just so happened to be there the night TMZ said Spike was done with TNA and it turned into a giant wake for TNA.

The Bound for Glory series....would have been great had they sat down one day and booked the whole thing but they had to throw in these random "winner gets however many points we forgot to book them" matches.

Following your logicNobody can use any form of the DDT because it was popularised by Jake Roberts.Nobody can use any form of the Spear because it was popularised by Edge.Nobody can use any form of the T-Bone suplex because it was popularised by The Rock.Nobody can use any form of the Leg Drop because it was popularised by Hulk Hogan.and so on....

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I never liked the whole BFG concept anyway just because in kayfabe sense it seemed unfair with one wrestler getting to have 20 matches in the series and another wrestler would only work 10 matches. They should have just stuck to doing old fashioned tournaments, but I'm guessing BFG was invented by Russo because the guy needs to overcomplicate the simplest of rules.

In some ways I understand what they did. They wanted the whole X-Division champion getting a title shot to be on the same level as a MITB winner getting a title shot because a MITB winner is 99% guaranteed to win the title, and if that was the case they really needed to rebook that part of it where instead of Sabin getting the shot, it should have been AJ getting the shot.

That's not a better comparison because WCW was stuck between a rock and hard place with that one, where no booking decision could have saved what they built up. The problem WCW had was that they were building Hogan vs Sting for a year, but something unexpected happen where Luger was clearly the #1 face during the summer of 97. Compare that to Chris Sabin, where most fans just perceive the guy as a JTTS guy.

Honestly, he shouldn't. He has much bigger things to worry about, between business and family. He probably sees himself as "above" all these guys who cling to their rasslin' gimmicks and old history, and really he should. Austin isn't necessarily one of those bitter old guys clinging to the glory days, but he also isn't a guy who has any particular power over HHH these days either

Well they are the two biggest names in the business and it was a good gimmick to sell Network subscribers too. If WWE were smart (ha) they should played up the controversy up a lot more, that way they the Austin podcasts would become must see tv.

TNA promoted a UK show on the back of a AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe ladder match. Myself and 6 friends went to the show solely for that match, TNA changed the match to a 6 man and it was possibly the least entertaining thing in the world.

TNA is booked poorly and is an extension of WCW. It was in 2003 and still is today.

My friend at work wanted to watch TNA and he only had ever seen WWE wrestling and was shocked to find when they didnt even have on screen graphics naming who was coming to the ring making the whole experience for him quite bewildering. Even the most basic of shit is foreign to TNA, a promotion with no identity of its own just a promotion that lives off of WWE names and WCW booking. Yes there are rare exceptions to this but holy shit it doesnt happen often.

This is email is fake as fuck. Me personally I was done with the company after they dropped the ball BIGTIME on Monty Brown. I came back and went out of my way to watch Aires win the World Title and immediately lost interest again. Typically when you torch the fans one time too many they don't come back, see WCW for reference.

The early days of the Lightheavyweight division was really weird when you stop to think about it. They bring in talented international wrestlers to try and capitalise on the fanbase that the quick highflying style is cultivating in the US. Then they build the division around Brian Christopher who was the slowest, most grounded guy in the division and have Lawler bury them all on commentary week after week.

If TNA still had AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Jay Lethal, then I might give them another shot. Bobby Roode is fantastic, and they have some other guys that are alright right now, but it's not the same. I can watch a crappy wrestling show if it features really good wrestlers. But I can't watch a mediocre wrestling show built around mediocre wrestlers.

I'll add to my previous comment - I really gave TNA a shot when it first started. I order several of the original $10 weekly PPV's. The 2003 Super X Cup episode is one of the my favorite wrestling shows of the last 15 years. This company had the opportunity to go in a fresh direction with a wealth of homegrown talent and instead brought in Bischoff and Hogan and a bunch of dinosaurs. They didn't even know how to book guys like Samoa Joe or Kurt Angle. Sorry I have no interest in this product and I really feel I've given it a fair shake over the years. I'm not why so many butt hurt TNA fanboys exist but this shit is getting annoying.

One thing to love about TNA: even they themselves think their company is second rate. How many times during the Hogan era did people in promos talk about "turning the company around," "bringing it to #1" or comparing the WWE as "the top of the mountain?" I mean, no one would take them seriously if they said they were the #1 promotion in the world, but man don't go out on tv and remind everyone how much you suck.

They were literally trying to copy that storyline beat for beat with Bully as Hogan, AJ as Sting, and Sabin as Luger. The difference being there was no good reason for the Luger win and even less of one for the Sabin win. And I like Sabin, that just didn't help him at all.

Don't feel sorry for TNA. I gave them chance after chance after chance. Their last chance came when Hogan first came in and I saw nothing was ever going to change. It doesn't mean I'm happy if they go out of business or that none of the boys work hard but at the same time I shouldn't feel bad for not caring about a product that took until the last minute and after everyone else is gone to start getting their shit in gear.

At the time (1999) I found it so confusing. Didn't know then that he was messed up because of injuries. To me, he was so boring even though he played the character well, and I just wanted him off of my TV.

I actually didn't mind TNA for a little while. Had Bobby Roode gone to WWE and started THERE instead of TNA, I really think he could've been something (great look, solid talker, can work a very good match with the right opponent), and TNA also made stars out of guys the WWE wouldn't have touched (Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, Bad Influence, etc.). The problem is, the booking at the top has been abysmal at times. Jeff Jarrett couldn't draw in his prime, let alone the first years of TNA, the Hogan stuff was bad, and trusting Jeff Hardy was clearly a mistake.

I vividly remember one of the Monday Impacts where they brought Samoa Joe back as a mystery partner. The place went CRAZY when he returned unannounced and kicked the crap out of everyone with the stiff offense...and then TNA did NOTHING with him. He should have been their version of Lesnar at that point, and instead he wound up being just another guy.

Ah... TNA fans... such anguished cray-cray. Back in the day WCW fans were the same way (and WWF & ECW fans too, just not as crazy). You know I used to get death threats writing the Monday Night Recap? There is clearly a sense of inferiority when the wrestling some choose as their favorite isn't perceived as "the best" by everyone. True for lots of things in life besides wrestling, actually. But there was a special kind of crazy that went along with being a diehard WCW fan that seemingly passed on to the TNA fans. What's funny is once WCW was gone, people let it go. Everyone now looks back, points to the few shiny things here & there, but generally acknowledges overall it was (after a point) all a garbage pile. The amazing thing is just how long these TNA fans have held onto this chip on their shoulder. They have been frothing-at-the-mouth-angry at Dave Meltzer and us "smarks" for over a decade now. TNA haters come and go, but the hater haters linger.

I just like to point out to TNA faithful that you can wail and gnash your teeth all you want--or employ the latest tactic of concern trolling about the fate of the poor TNA workers who we disrespect by not showering them with adoration... none of it matters in the end because it was TNA ITSELF that drove its own fans away, and it's YOU TNA FANS who continually abandoned the company. Bryan Alvarez ranting about them and all the #LOLTNAFAIL in the world didn't cause the million-ish people who watched the show every week stop buying their PPVs and going to their house shows.

You like TNA? Great. Watch their show. Write them a fan letter. Buy their next PPV. Go see them live. Buy a t-shirt off their website. Why do you expend more time & energy complaining about non-fans than you do in actually being their fan? Why do you give such a fuck what others think? If your being a fan of TNA requires such validation then maybe you need to look inward and question your own supposed love for them.

We'll be over here bitching about how awful WWE has gotten in the vain hope it will somehow make them get better...

I like how Steve has been above Vince's nonsense. Vince puts Jericho's terrible podcast on the network, Austin doesn't care. Cena uses a crappy springboard stunner, Austin doesn't care. I'd love to see Stone Cold show up for WrestleMania, but if he doesn't, just to give Vince the ol' middle finger, then good for him.

Not putting the title on Month Brown was beyond dumb. He was the most over guy in the company, beat Nash and DDP in a triangle match, but got beat by the heat sucking Jeff Jarrett. It was PATHETIC that a scrub like Jarrett got pushed to the main events in WCW and TNA. WCW had Goldberg RIGHT THERE and they go with Jarrett..... stupid, stupid, stupid.

I enjoyed the Bruce Prichard era - angles slowed the hell down and made some semblance of sense. Joseph Park was a fun character, Roode and Storm were fighting to the death, the women wrestled credibly, and there were fun things happening. Then everyone got the boot and they went back to the bush-league bullshit like six sided rings and Vince Russo.

Nothing wrong with putting the title on Hardy since he is the biggest name they have. If TNA booked to the future then the smart thing would have been to give Jeff a year long reign and have him go over the majority of the roster, while at the same time they would have built up a home grown talent guy as TNA's last hope to beat Jeff and he does so, and hey presto, you built up a match that drew a lot of money.

Here's the problem with TNA (as a person who was defending them since literally day one up through 2013, I'm probably the best "qualified" to answer this).

The problem with TNA is that every single time they had a hot thing going, they somehow found a way to turn it into something stupid. This isn't just some angles -- this is EVERY angle. Try as I may, I can't think of a single angle that didn't start hot and then take a turn for the idiotic.

They would start building the goodwill of fans just to turn around and wash it all away with something stupid.

Don't get me wrong. There were a ton of people who hated TNA just for it not being WWE. But those of us that liked TNA and wanted to see it succeed started by saying that "TNA is awesome", but slowly morphed into "Well, hopefully they won't screw it up THIS time"

The occasional flashes of brilliance they showed were in some ways worse than if they had been entirely bad, because it showed how amazing they COULD be when they wanted to, and it was like they were actively going out of their way to suck.

But things like bringing Russo in and then bringing Hogan/Bischoff in and then bringing Russo in and then bringing Russo showed that TNA was determined to repeat the mistakes of others.

HHH is above guys clinging to wrestling gimmicks? Is that why he wrestles at every Mania still, and the Monday Night War has been rewritten as to have been won by HHH and his tank? You can't convince me H isn't insecure about his standing in wrestling history.

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